The Prisoner
by Viperdae
Summary: Dib left Earth long ago and spends his new life exploring the stars. He finds something very unusual in a quiet stretch of space. Written for ZADR Week 2019.


Dib stared out into the void, his eyes not focusing on anything in particular. He leaned back into his chair as his ship hurtled through space, enjoying the familiar grumbles of the engine.

It was a quiet stretch of space. There were a few cold planets and little else. Dib's star map showed no points of interest for many lightyears, and he could see why.

Still, he enjoyed exploring the less traveled regions. He'd met his fair share of dangerous aliens since he left Earth at age twenty, and had the scars to show for it. As thrilling as it was, he still savored the time he spent in solitude.

His communications system chimed and a projection glimmered across his windshield. He answered it quickly.

"You are getting much too close to Irken space, Dib. You need to turn back immediately." The grey-skinned alien warned.

"Hello to you too, Lard-Nar," Dib greeted. He'd met the Resisty a few years back and occasionally exchanged information with them. Their captain had invited Dib to join their movement, but he'd declined. He agreed with their cause; it was clear Irkens were a powerful force that needed to be stopped, but he wasn't willing to give up the freedom he'd spent so long working towards.

"This is very serious," Lard-Nar frowned at him. "It would be a very pointless death if you run into an Irken patrol."

"I'll be careful," Dib reassured. "There's nothing out here, anyway." He glanced at his radar system, his eyes scanning over the icons for the small, uninhabited planets. "I won't-" His words died as a blip popped into existence. "Oh shit."

"Dib?" The Vortian sat up straight in his chair, his voice squeaking in alarm. "It's a patrol, isn't it? Don't get caught! Self-destructing is better than being captured by Irkens!"

"Hang on, it doesn't look like a patrol." Dib's heart thudded as he ran a quick scan for energy signatures. "There's just a tiny amount of energy, it could be a glitch."

"Whatever it is, you should head in the opposite direction."

Dib stared at the blip on his radar. It wasn't leaving.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll leave it be," he replied. "Thanks for the heads up."

Lard-Nar didn't look entirely convinced. "Be safe, human. We are heading to the Nerva system, you should meet us there."

"I'll try." Dib gave a wave and ended the transmission.

He slowed the ship to a crawl and stared out into the nothingness beyond. He wanted to investigate. He wanted to uncover this new mystery, discover what was showing up on his radar. It was what he did. Ever since he was a child, he'd been slipping out of the house at night to explore haunted grounds, to search after Bigfoot, to uncover the mysteries of Earth. Eventually he'd tired of being confined to a planet. He'd built a ship, with some assistance from his father's laboratories, and sped off to explore the vast beyond.

But he wasn't an idiot. He was on the edges of Irken space. He should leave as fast as possible. He shouldn't risk his life to satisfy his curiosity.

He wrestled with his conflicting desires for some time, floating alone in his little ship.

That little blip on his radar… it called to him.

Dib took a deep breath of recycled air and activated the thrusters. His heart was pounding, but a grin stretched across his face. This was what he lived for.

A few hours passed before it came into sight.

Shivers ran down his spine as his eyes traced over the decrepit ship. It was Irken-made, no doubt. The colours and design were a dead giveaway. It was huge, dwarfing Dib's ship in size. But it looked abandoned, chunks missing and panels loose.

The energy reading was still so faint. The ship was clearly not operational, but something aboard must still be functioning.

Dib circled the ship, and found an entry point.

"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever done," he muttered to himself as he brought his ship in for a landing.

He slipped into a lightweight spacesuit and opened his hatch. He was in a small docking area in the underside of the larger ship. A closed door lay ahead of him. Dib tapped the panel and to open it and nothing happened.

He went back to his ship and connected an energy port into the larger ship. He tapped the panel again and the ship groaned and the doors squeaked open. He nervously stepped forward and the door shut behind him. The airlock whined and slowly air started to pour from the vents. When the interior door opened, Dib stepped out and scanned the environment. His device indicated it was breathable, so he deactivated his suit and took a shaky breath.

He started wandering the ship, looking for answers. It soon became apparent what the ship was built for.

It was a prison.

The ship had clearly been abandoned years ago. But the prisoners had been left behind.

Their remains had mummified in the dry interior. Each small room had an alien corpse slumped against the floor.

Dib walked through the hallways that seemed to never end. He didn't know why he didn't turn back and get as far away as possible. He felt compelled to keep going.

Somewhere deep in the ship, Dib glanced into yet another cell and sprung backwards when something stared back.

Something was alive.

When his heart rate got back under control, he stepped forward again, peering in.

Glowing magenta eyes stared back.

It was an Irken. Its arms and legs bound tightly and pulled close to it's tiny body. It looked emaciated. But most oddly, its pak was open and cords branched out and into the cell wall.

"Hello?" Dib asked softly.

It didn't respond. Magenta eyes stared, unblinking.

Dib chewed his lip for a moment. Irkens were dangerous, he knew that. But this one was barely alive. He opened the cell and stepped inside.

"I'm Dib," he said gently, lowering himself to the floor to get on the creature's level.

He reached a hand out and saw the alien flinch. "Shh, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. I promise."

He placed a light hand on the Irken's much smaller hand. It was cold. He gently rubbed the creature's hand until it started to warm up a little.

"Hang on a minute, I'm going to go see if I can get you a blanket or some food." He turned away and felt a tug on his sleeve. The Irken had weakly reached out for him, big eyes looking forlorn. Green lips moved slowly and Dib leaned in to hear it better.

"Stay," it whispered hoarsely. It looked like it was painful to speak.

"Okay, I'll stay," Dib replied. He settled down beside the Irken again, and after a moment, wrapped an arm around the creature's shoulder. The prisoner was so cold. Dib wasn't sure if Irkens needed heat, but it relaxed into this hold and leaned against the human's chest.

His heart fluttered a little, watching the tiny creature resting against him. He wondered what the Irken had done to wind up in such an awful place. There were no other Irkens among the dead.

"What's your name?"

The alien's antenna flicked and he raised his head to look up at the human.

"I… I am Zim!" He croaked, and he managed a toothy smile.

"Zim." Dib murmured the name. He liked the sound of it.


End file.
